Jam and Lemon Tarts

For some reason whenever I decided to make jam tarts I instantly think “Oh there quick and easy to make, let’s make them!”. However for some strange reason I always forget about the problems I run into occasionally. Those being, the tart’s sticking to the pan or I may have added too much jam or lemon (which really shouldn’t be a problem) and they have bubbled over and made a mess. So without thinking of this I just went straight into it. Now the good thing with jam and lemon tarts is that you would usually have all the ingredients already and honestly it isn’t that much. Of course, you don’t even have to use strawberry jam or lemon curd you can add whatever filling you like, it’s up to you, there your tarts just do what you like.(In my case this is all I had, but I ain’t complaining).

Now before I actually went into making these I wanted to look around and see what recipes were out there and that’s when I came across a recipe from Jamie Oliver. I love Jamie Oliver’s recipes and I thought “you know what this is going to be good”. I was wrong!

For some reason I have never really liked making pastry, never liked the feel of making it. So when Jamie Oliver’s recipe was telling me to use Icing sugar (Yep. seriously, icing sugar!) I was so confused, I’ve never put icing sugar in pastry that just seems so weird. But I thought I’d give it a go and see what happens if it fails, just try and try again.

So I made the pastry and I found out that it was quite soft and in some ways sticky. It was easy to roll out but required lots of flour to stop it sticking to the surface and yet that didn’t work either. I even put it in the fridge for 30 minutes and that didn’t do anything either. However even with all these small complications I went with it, greasing the cupcake tray, placing the pastry circles in and the filling and let them cook. So far it was going fine but that changed when I put them in the oven. It was like the pastry was possessed (I’m being serious!). It was making the shape of the tart’s weird, some were starting to enclose the filling, I had no idea what to do. Once they were cooked I let them cool completely before removing them from the tray. They didn’t want to leave, I think they just wanted to stay there. One managed to get out and it tasted really nice. The pastry was a little soft, but I kind of expected that but it was really good. However, that tart was the only lucky survivor, the rest ended up mushed and crumbled with my attempt to get them. (R.I.P little tarts).

Honestly, I got angry and upset that the turnout was horrible. (I’m a little bit of a perfectionist). I wanted them to be perfect and they weren’t. But after some reassurance from my dad and my boyfriend, I found another recipe and tried them again.

Below you will find the recipe I used to make the second batch, It is really simple, and doesn’t take long to make. Plus the recipe makes loads (great for sharing, if you’re willing to share that is) and they taste amazing.

Re-making these turned out to be really easy, it honestly didn’t take much time at all. All it required was to put the flour, sugar and butter in a bowl and rub together, then adding water to bind. That’s it, that’s your pastry. It’s that simple. All that is required then is to roll it out and cut into circles. For which I used a glass cup as I didn’t have anything else to cut it with. (worked great though, if you wanted to try it!).

Now as I have said, when I tried to get the last batch of tarts out of the tray it went really wrong and I really didn’t want this happening again. So I did the next best thing I could think of, I used cupcake liners. Seriously why have I never thought of this before? It saves the hassle of greasing the tray and I don’t have to worry about the tarts sticking once they are cooked. (Really you have to try this the next time you make tarts).

All that was left was to fill the tarts cases and cooked them and that went smoothly. Out of all the time I have baked, making these tarts has actually taught me some tips and tricks. One: all you need is a simple recipe, anything more, don’t try it (seriously, it’s not worth the hassle). Two: If you fail once, just try again, until you get it right. Baking is supposed to be fun and a learning experience and sometimes you learn the most when you go wrong and that’s ok.

So overall, they were finally a success and they were so tasty. Who knew these simple tarts could be a hassle to make! At least now I know how to do it right and you do to. (Good thing I made the mistakes so you don’t have to!).